Secret Child
by Jedi Master Misty Sman-Esay
Summary: Mara meets Luke for the first time. Part of my AU. Takes place before TCoLS. New Chapter! This takes place after GoT.
1. Secret Child

Don't own anything!

Massive AU!

The background of this character has been changed but hopefully she'll be close enough to her book self.

Wish me luck!

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Mara stood on the steps of the Jedi Temple.

_Maybe mom's right and this is a bad idea._ She thought.

_Get it together Kryze! You decided before coming here that this was the best decision._ She berated herself.

Mara took a deep breath and started to ascend the steps again.

Two Jedi stood in front of the entrance.

"What is your business here?" One of them, a woman, asked.

"I wish to become a Jedi Knight." Mara answered truthfully.

The two Jedi were silent for several heartbeats.

"What is your name?" The woman asked.

Mara hesitated.

"My name is Mara Jade Kryze." She answered truthfully.

The two Jedi shared a curious look but stood aside.

"Someone will be here to take you to see Master Skywalker." The other one said, speaking for the first time.

Mara entered the Temple and silently admired it's beauty.

A man carrying a togruta toddler made his way over to her.

"Good day, my name is Wrenga Jixton." The man, Wrenga said. "And who might you be?"

"Mara Jade Kryze Mr. Jixton." Mara replied.

Wrenga smiled kindly.

"Just call me Jix, there's only one person in the galaxy allowed to call me by my last name is my uncle." Jix said.

"Okay," Mara said as she followed him into the Jedi Temple.

"First things first. You are going to have to have a midi-chlorian count done then you have an interview with Luke Skywalker. After the interview you need a physical then you will be assigned to teachers to help you progress in both the Force and hand to hand combat." Jix explained.

Mara nodded.

"Any questions?" Jix asked as they approached the Halls of Healing. "Just one: what is a midi-chlorian count?" Mara asked curious. "Well a mid-chlorian count determines how strong you are in the Force and how fast you can progress. Uncle D's friend can explain it better. Anything else?" He asked.

"How do you count them?" Mara asked. "Midi-chlorians are counted in a blood test." Jix said as they entered the Halls of Healing.

Mara fell silent.

_These midi-chlorians is in my blood?_

Once they entered they were greeted by a young Mon Cal. "Hello Jix, Denis. Who's this?" The Mon Cal asked.

"This Mara, Cilghal. She needs a midi-chlorian count done." Jix explained.

"I see," Cilghal said.

Cighal then turned to her.

"Does the sight of blood make you ill?" she asked her. "No, blood doesn't make me ill cause me to feel faint." Mara answered truthfully. _I killed my first kill at sixteen._ She thought.

Mara watched as Cilghal pricked her finger with a needle, rubbed the area with a analysis chip and then inserted the chip into a scanner.

Cilghal suddenly turned to Jix.

"Take her to Luke immediately." Cilghal told Jix. "He should be meditating in one of the Meditation Rooms." She said handing a data pad to Jix.

Jix sighed.

"Come with me." He said and led her out of the Halls of Healing and down the hall a short distance.

Jix stopped and pulled out his commlink and punched in a code.

"What is it Jix?" A man's voice asked.

"I have a prospective student that I was told to take to you and to do that I need your location cousin." Jix said.

The man, Luke, sighed.

"I'm in quarters Jix." Luke informed Jix. "See you soon cuz." Jix said and turned off his commlink.

"Follow me." Jix said as he shifted Denis's weight.

Mara followed Jix into a turbo lift and watched as he punched a level and sector in.

"So, what do you do?" Mara asked.

"Me?" Jix asked. Mara nodded. "I teach self defense, hand to hand combat and more recently I take care of Denis while his mother rests."

"Do you go on missions?" She asked.

Jix shrugged.

"Once I babysat a senator that refused to have a Jedi. It was quite entertaining." Jix said with a slight smile.

Mara frowned.

"You're not a Jedi?" She asked.

Jix shook his head.

"But I have some skills that come in handy and that are worthy to be passed down to the next generation." He said as the lift came to a stop.

"Although my count like Han Solo's is higher than the average person it isn't high enough for us to be Jedi material." Jix explained as they walled down a long corridor.

Finally they reached a door.

It wasn't any different than the other doors but Mara felt a pull at the sight of the door. Her life was about to change for the better.

Jix pressed the chime. "Come in." A man's voice called.

Jix opened the door, and stood aside.

Mara entered and Jix followed behind her..

A man that she recognized as Luke Skywalker knelt on the floor. Two cloaked and hooded men stood behind a sofa deep in conversation.

Mara watched as Luke stood.

"Welcome," he said warmly.

The two men turned and nodded in greeting.

Luke sat down on the sofa and gestured for Mara and Jix to sit on the other sofa.

Jix handed Luke the data pad.

"I am Luke Skywalker." Luke said.

"I am Mara Kryze." Mara said as she sat down.

The two men stopped their conversation and turned to look at her.

"She looks a bit like Satine." One of them said in a baritone. The other one nodded.

She watched as Luke glanced at the data pad. His eyes widened a bit.

"Who are your parents?" He asked.

Mara hesitated.

"My mother is Satine Kryze, Duchess of Mandalore. I don't know who my father is."

Jix made a coughing noise and Luke gave him a pointed look.

"I sense that you have a basic understanding of the Force."

Mara nodded.

"Since I was sixteen I did odd jobs for the late Emperor Palpatine." Mara admitted to them.

"I was known to the Imperials as Mara Jade." Mara explained.

"Did your mother ever hint at your father's identity?" Luke asked.

Mara was shocked.

"You don't care that I served Palpatine?" She demanded.

Luke shook his head.

"Jix here was one of Darth Vader's most trusted and loyal servants." Luke said.

Mara looked at Jix. She would have never guessed that he had once served Vader.

"What?" Jix asked with a smile. "You don't seem like the type to serve a temperamental person." Mara answered

There was silence for several minutes.

"What do you know about your father?" Luke asked again.

Mara sighed.

"All I know about him is that he was wanted by the Empire and that a little over a year after the Empire rose he appeared in her private chambers and asked her to hide him for a few months. After staying a month and a half he said good bye. He never told her where he had been or why he came to her or where he was going. She didn't even give me a name." Mara explained bitterly.

One of the men said something to his friend and earned a slap.

Luke turned to the two men.

"You know who Mara's father is.

"He suspects." The shorter man grumbled, gesturing to the taller man.

"Well?" Mara prompted.

"Well, back some twelve years before the Clone Wars master and Padawan team were assigned to protect the newly ascended Duchess Satine of Mandalore. For a year she and the two Jedi hid from bounty hunters. During that time she and the padawan developed feelings for each other but she said nothing and so the padawan returned to Coruscant with his Master. During the first year of the Clone Wars they were reunited and confessed how they felt for each other. Well because that was in the past they went their separate ways once again. Then the Empire rose and he was one of the survivors of Order Sixty-Six he fled and one day he received word that the Empire was sending people to the planet that he was hiding one to search for Jedi so he fled to to the only person that he could trust and not endanger too many people. So he went to his lost love. After the Imperials left the world he was hiding on he left, never to return." The taller man said.

"What was his name?" Mara asked. "I want to know so that I can confront my mother about him and maybe kill him if he's alive."

The taller man headed for the door.

"His name's Obi-Wan Kenobi." The taller man said then bolted out the now open door.

There was several shocked seconds before the shorter man chased after the taller man.

Jix's laughter broke the stunned silence.

Mara and Luke both glared at him.

"Sorry," Jix said between laughs. "But I just don't see that being possible."

"You believed that Uncle D was once in love and now you know that it;s true." Luke said.

Mara was silent for several minutes.

"Wasn't he killed by Lord Vader aboard the first Death Star?" She asked.

The door opened.

"Luke why is Ani running down the corridors as if Sidious himself is chasing him?" A woman's voice asked.

Mara turned to see how the newcomer was and gaped.

Standing just inside the entry was Leia Skywalker, a obviously pregnant Leia Skywalker.

"He thinks he knows the identity of this woman's father which he shared with us and promptly ran away." Luke explained.

"But that doesn't explain why he's running." Leia said.

"Later." Luke said smiling.

Luke turned his attention back to Mara.

"If you want we can go down to the Halls of Healing and get a DNA test done then you can call your mother and ask if it's true." Luke said gently.

Mara nodded.

"It would be nice to know after all these years." She said slowly.

Luke rose and gestured for her to follow him.

"Are you nervous?" Luke asked her.

"For all my life other children teased me about not having a father and how my mother must have slept with a high Imperial Official to protect Mandalore. When I asked my mother if it was true she wouldn't say anything. It was only recently that she told me that he was wanted by the Empire and the story surrounding my birth and that she let the late Emperor use me as an assassin and informer because he suspected something." Mara said softly.

Luke nodded.

"I used to be teased because everyone thought that my father was a navigator on a spice freighter. 'Jabba killed him and the entire crew because they failed to bring a shipment in on time.'

Some kids would say. Others would just look at me in an understanding way." Luke said .

Mara shrugged.

"It hurts to be the fatherless child." Luke continued.

"Yes, it does." Mara agreed.

They lapsed into silence as they walked to the Halls of Healing.

Cilghal was checking equipment when they entered.

"What can I do for you?" She asked.

"Cilghal I need you to run a DNA comparison." Luke said.

Cilghal blinked.

"Of course." She said.

Mara stepped forward.

"I need you to compare my DNA to a Jedi's." Mara said quickly.

Cilghal drew a blood sample and inserted the sample in the computer.

"Which Jedi?" She asked. "Obi-Wan Kenobi." Luke answered.

Cilghal blinked again but didn't say anything.

The computer beeped. The results were in.

Mara took a deep breath.

"According to the test Obi-Wan Kenobi is your father." Cilghal said softly.

Mara turned to Luke.

"I want to speak to my mother."

xxxxxx

Mara shook with pent up emotions.

In a few minutes she would get the truth out of her mother about her father's name.

Finally the screen showed her mother's face.

"Mara! I've been so worried about you!" Satine said. "Where are you?"

"I'm on Coruscant mom. In the Jedi Temple to be more precise."

Satine's face paled slightly.

"Mom, is it true that you meet my father some twelve years before the Clone Wars and that you met him again during the war and confessed your true feelings?" Mara nearly demanded.

"Yes sweetheart. I did." Satine answered.

"Was his name Obi-Wan Kenobi?" Mara asked.

Satine sighed.

"Yes and where did you hear that name?" She asked.

Mara shrugged.

"Some Jedi named Ani told me the most of the story." Mara explained.

Satine looked perplexed.

"Very few Jedi knew the entire story in fact only Obi-Wan knew about our confession unless Master Skywalker was listening." Satine mused.

"Mom, they don't care about my past so I am going to train as a Jedi." Mare stated. "Corkton is the rightful heir to the Mandalorain throne and I am illegitimate." She continued.

Satine smiled faintly.

"I will miss but every child must grow up and leave home." She said. "Keep in touch and train hard. Make Mandalore proud."

Mara smiled.

"I will mom. Good bye."

"Good bye."

Mara ended the transmission.

Luke looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding.

"There's someone I want you to meet." Luke said.

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Finish

I decided to end this here because if I don't I'll have ANOTHER fic on my hands.

Please review and remember this is AU!


	2. Father and Daughter

You asked for it! XD

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Mara followed Luke through the Jedi Temple.

Finally they reached a room.

Standing in the center of the room was a figure that she couldn't quite make out and another figure in the corner.

"It makes sense and at least she's not Asajj's." The one in the corner said.

Luke cleared his throat and used the Force to turn off the lights.

Mara blinked when two men appeared.

One was young, about her age and the other was old.

"Mara I would like you to meet my father Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, your father." Luke said.

Mara was silent for several seconds.

"How is this possible?" She asked.

Luke smiled.

"That's further into your training." He answered.

"We are the guardians of the Temple and the future of the Jedi Order." Luke's father explained.

"Who's Asajj?" Mara asked, curious.

"A Sith wanna be." Anakin said, as if it explained everything.

There was several moments of silence.

"Father, why don't we leave them alone so that they can talk." Luke said, breaking the silence.

"Are you sure?" Obi-Wan asked.

Luke nodded.

Obi-Wan seemed to sigh.

"Come on father." Luke said.

Mara watched with some apprehension as Luke and his father left.

There was several minutes of uncomfortable silence.

"How much do you know about the Force?" her father asked, breaking the awkward silence. "I believe I know the basics." She replied.

There was more silence.

"If I knew about you I would have taken you into hiding with me." He said.

Mara didn't know what to say or how to react.

"My mother was very upset that you left and never considered the consequences of your actions." Mara said coolly.

"She would have sent men to find you but she was afraid of attracting the wrong type of attention." Mara continued.

She started to pace.

"Do you know what it is like to grow up without a father?" She demanded.

"I grew up in the Temple. I never knew my birth family. My Master filled the role of a father when I was assigned to him." Obi-Wan said.

"I had Corkton, a few guards and later Lord Vader when I did work for the Emperor." Mara said. "Neither of them could have replaced the real thing." She said bitterly.

"I was told by children in my age group that my mother had slept with a high up Imperial Official. Do you know what that was like to hear your mother degraded in such a way? And to have your mother never confirm or deny it?" She said.

Obi-Wan was silent.

"Nothing can replace the real thing." Mara whispered.

She turned away from him and stared at the wall.

A minutes passed then two.

Mara felt something touch her shoulder. IT had substance to it but at the same time it mind as well been a spirit touching her.

She turned her head and saw Obi-Wan standing there.

"I am sorry that had to experience all of that Mara. But a Jedi doesn't dwell on what could have been." He said.

Mara didn't know if she should scream at him or walk away.

"I was a poor father figure to my padawan, although he says otherwise. But if you would allow me I will be a father to you now." He said softly.

Mara turned the idea over in her head.

'That would be fine." She says after a minutes.

Xxxxxx

Finish?


	3. Advice

This is for Hazel.

Thank you Lady Dae for posting how to get around the error. So give her a hand.

xxxxxx

Mara sat in her quarters in the Jedi Temple, unsure what to say to her father.

_How does one talk to someone they barely know let alone know anything about?_ She wondered.

"Where were you born?" She asked, it was a safe question.

"Stewjon." Obi-Wan replied.

"What was it like growing up in the Temple?" She asked.

"It was very different than how you were raised. My parents raised me until I was three years old then the Temple took me. From there I was placed with a group of youngllings my age and we trained together until we were assigned to Masters. My Master name is Qui-Gon Jinn. He guided me until his untimely release from this realm when I was twenty-five. After that I was busy raising and training Anakin Skywalker." Obi-Wan responded

Mara tilted her head backwards in exasperation.

_I didn't ask that!_ She thought.

"Maybe we could talk later." Obi-Wan suggested. "I need to get back to my post and you have a class in half an hour."

If it had been her mother than Mara would have been upset at the suggestion. But she was relieved that the awkwardness was over for now.

She watched as her father left before she stood and changed into some comfortable clothes and headed for her meditation class with Luke Skywalker.

Luke could tell that something was bothering his newest student.

"What's troubling you?" He asked.

Mara seriously considered not answering him but changed her mind.

"I have no idea how to connect to my father and he seems to have no idea how to connect with me either." Mara explained.

Luke nodded.

"At first things were awkward between myself and my father. But Leia had very few problems with him. It turned out that Leia considered him and our mother friends." Luke smiled. "Everyone believed that they were imaginary friends. Leia told me that she actually threw quite an impressive temper tantrum after our father was called a girl and told that he didn't really exist." Luke said.

Mara burst into laughter at the mental image of Leia at any age throwing a temper tantrum.

"She destroyed two of her rooms in the Alderaanian Palace." Luke said between laughs.

"How come Palpatine didn't sense her outburst?" Mara asked.

Luke sobered.

"She was noticed but another Force Sensitive child was brought in instead of her. Palpatine never knew the difference." Luke explained.

Mara had the distinct feeling that Luke was leaving something out of the story.

xxxxx

Mara walked into the Archives.

She then headed deep into it.

There she found Leia reading a holobook.

"Yes Mara?" Leia asked before Mara could open her mouth.

"I am having problems connecting with my father and wanted to know if you had any advice." Mara explained.

Leia looked up from the holobook.

"Tricky things fathers." Leia said.

"As you know I was adopted and raised in the Alderaanian Palace." Leia began.

Mara nodded.

"Well, up until I was four Bail was there when he could be. Then his wife died; a miscarriage gone terribly wrong, she kept bleeding.

"I saw him less and less.

"One night I was crying because I was so upset that my daddy didn't come to see me before he left for Coruscant. My nanny told me to basically to shut up and go to sleep. So I broadcasted my distress into the Force. Ani, my father, felt, heard, my cries told me to be quiet because I could attract unwanted attention. I asked him for a story so he told me a silly story and I fell asleep.

"I began to look forward to bedtime until I discovered that sometimes he could speak to me any time he wasn't busy.

"Ani became my friend but there were things we didn't share and that was fine.

"After the Battle at Endor I tried to talk to Ani but I couldn't, I believed that he had perished in the fighting. It wasn't until Luke and I entered the Temple for the first time that I heard Ani's voice again. He said some personal things to me and revealed that he was my father. I assaulted him with questions." Leia smiled.

"Even though Bail came back into my life when I was older I still have a hard time considering him 'daddy' but he was a father to me." Leia explained.

"Why do you call your father 'Ani' and not father or daddy?" Mara asked.

Leia shrugged.

"I have known him a Ani since I was four and I am not quite ready to call him father." Leia explained.

Again she was leaving something out.

"Try seeing it from his point of view too. He went from not having any children to suddenly having a daughter. That must have been startling not to mention world shattering." Leia said.

Mara turned it over in her head.

_She has a point._ Mara thought.

"If you are asking me how to have a relationship with your father than I am afraid that I can't help you." Leia told her.

"Thanks for the advice though." Mara said and headed for her next class.

xxxx

Obi-Wan paced the floor.

"Some advice would be nice." He told his companion.

"About what?" Anakin Skywalker asked, curious.

"Mara, I don't know how to connect to her." Obi-Wan said.

"You helped me with Ahsoka, how is Mara any different?" Anakin asked.

"Ahsoka was a Jedi Padawan, raised since she was three in the Temple. And she isn't related to me." Obi-Wan said.

"Please Anakin, you have two adult children. How do you connect with them?" Obi-Wan begged.

Anakin frowned.

"I connected to Leia accidentally, she was lonely and I became her friend. Luke on the other hand always wanted a father and felt the need for one, we connected talking about ships." Anakin explained.

Obi-Wan sighed.

"I don't think that's going to work Anakin." Obi-Wan said.

"Tell her how you feel about her mother then. Luke and Leia love to hear me tell them stories about their mother and she chimes in to verify something." Anakin suggested. "I'm sure that she's never heard the full story of how you and Satine met."

Obi-Wan turned the thought over in his head.

"Thank you Anakin." Obi-Wan said before leaving.

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Mara sat across from her father.

"Did your mother ever tell you how we met?" He asked.

"No, but Ani did give me the rough story my first day here. But I would like to hear your point of view." She said.

Obi-Wan smiled.

"Well one day over thirty years ago my Master Qui-Gon Jinn and I were called to the Jedi Council Chamber." He began.

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More might be coming.


	4. Marriage Announcement

This is the last post for this fic. Mara and Luke's story will continue in my AU of The Thrawn Trilogy. I pray that I do it justice.

It has been fun.

xxxxxxx

Mara could feel Luke's nervousness through the door.

Shaking her head she palmed it open.

"You ready to go?" Luke asked her. Mara nodded.

They left her quarters and left the Temple for Memorial Park.

They walked until they reached a secluded part of the Park.

"Mara," Luke began. "There is so much that I want to tell you. You are intelligent, snarky, a quick learner and beautiful."

Luke dropped to one knee and pulled out a ring.

"Mara Jade Kryze, would you do me the pleasure of becoming my wife?" He asked.

Mara felt a smile form on her lips.

"I would love to!" She cried.

xxxxx

That night they dined with the Solos and Jixtons.

"We have an announcement to make." Luke said.

Mara smiled as she revealed her ring to the adults.

Ahsoka and Leia shared a smile while Han handed Jix a credit. While the children looked puzzled.

"Uncle Luke and Mara are going to get married!" Leia told Bail. "And then you are going to have cousins."

Bail blinked at his mother in confusion.

"I marry Ailyn." Bail declared.

"So, when is the wedding?" Jix asked. "Not for awhile.' Luke said. "My mother and cousin need some time to set affairs in order on Mandalore before we can get married." Mara said.

Leia nodded.

xxxxx

Obi-Wan sighed.

Every last Ghost in the Temple had come to congratulate him upon hearing that his daughter was going to be getting married.

Truth be told Obi-Wan wasn't sure if he was ready for his daughter to get married now. He had discovered that he had a daughter about two years ago and he still wasn't quite used to the idea. But he knew that Luke and Mara truly loved each other and that Luke would take care of his little girl.

He found himself sympathizing once again with Anakin. He, like Anakin, hadn't realized that he had offspring until later in life.

He wandered the halls of the Temple until he found Anakin working on some piece of junk.

"I a few months we are going to be related." He told his former Padawan. Anakin nodded.

"How long did you know that Mara was my daughter?" He asked. "I suspected something when I first laid eyes on her but nothing concrete." Anakin replied.

"I gave Luke my permission to ask her to marry her Anakin. I barely know her and now she's getting married!" Obi-Wan said.

"You know her well enough Obi-Wan." Anakin replied.

"I wasn't there for her!" Obi-Wan snapped "I wasn't there to protect her from Sidious. I was too concerned about Luke to think of the consequence. If I knew about Mara I would have talked Satine in coming away with me."

"Stop beating yourself up Obi-Wan, I am the only Ghost allowed to do that." Anakin said.

"Look, Mara has forgiven you for what you have done and she doesn't blame you." Anakin explained.

"Satine is announcing Mara's engagement tomorrow." Anakin said, changing the subject; somewhat.

"The whole galaxy is going to want a big wedding." Obi-Wan said with a groan.

"I know." Anakin said with a humorless laugh.

"You can have some of my time if that is the case." Anakin offered.

Obi-Wan smiled. "Thanks my old friend."

Luke and Mara will be married in my rewrite of the Thrawn Trilogy which is in writing now.


End file.
